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Comment by csours | Hacker News Reader

I am not convinced. Yes, the regulations are a factor, but ego is also a factor. See also Giraffe Necks.

i heard some lady in the south say she wouldn't date a guy who didn't have a truck, those are the social forces putting pressure on a certain type of man to buy a truck. It truly is a macho thing.

And I wouldn’t date a woman who judges me based on the kind of vehicle I drive. Oh well, I’m sure she’s a real winner.

You shouldn't judge people from a single data point. She might in fact be a real winner. She just likes guys with trucks.

Someone should tell her that.

Maybe she has a big boat.

This is a regional trend in North America, not a global one. Do homo sapiens in Europe or Asia have egos that are somehow fundamentally different?

> Do homo sapiens in Europe or Asia have egos that are somehow fundamentally different?

Yes, Europe and Asia have different cultures from North America. The impulse for ego may be biological, but the expression is cultural.

Europeans still mostly buy mean looking BMWs to stroke their ego, more SUVs than sedans nowadays, but the pickup craze is also gaining some traction. We have the ranger raptor & toyota hilux on the market, although still a bit pricey and impracticle for us europeans imho.

Ego is why some people feel the need to come up with narratives where the reason other people drive better cars than them is due to some moral failure, and not due to rational decision-making.

Ego is why people buy trucks. Regulations disincentivize Chrysler from selling an economy cars.

Also, trucks have some of the highest inventory levels of any new vehicle type right now. If ego is the only way to explain this, why did folks buy so many more trucks last year? Did the American ego Change more than gas prices?

> "If ego is the only way to explain this"

If you re-read my comment, you may note that I did NOT say this.

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